Easter is coming up this weekend. I've always known of "Easter Sunday" but I've never heard of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Black Saturday before now! I guess it's because this is the first time I'm spending this holiday in a Catholic country - the Philippines. Back when I was studying in university here, I'd always go back home (to Nigeria) for the Easter break...but it wasn't really called Easter break; it was called summer break! Over here, summer is April/May as opposed to Nigeria's June - August.
I observed that my colleagues and friends have been excited about this holiday for a very...very long time. I wondered why, I mean Thursday - Sunday is such a short time! Then I realized...for those who are working, the next holiday after this week is all the way in November (All Souls/Saint's day!) No wonder a lot of people are taking this entire or next week off, to enjoy. My Mom and I asked each other what we'd do and the thought of us travelling this time of the year wasn't as exciting as it is for most Filipinos, because of the following headlines:
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| http://www.philstar.com/ |
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| http://cnnphilippines.com/ |
You see, airports and bus terminals are already crowded. And if you plan to drive out of town, we are absolutely certain there will be traffic along the express roads leading out of Manila and also heading back into Manila on Sunday. I did look up some resorts/hotels near Manila which I thought we could go to and just spend one night but lo and behold - fully booked!
My Mom and brother traveled to another island three weeks ago, and then again last week, so they've had their fair share of relaxation, and I'm travelling (for work) next Monday to a city seven hours away (will be away for a whole week)...I do not want to be tired before that trip. So in other words, we don't want to leave Manila.
I know that Manila will be empty later this week, as most people will be traveling out. I also know that malls, offices and most restaurants will be closed. But who said that's depressing? I believe in making the most out of whatever situation you're in! So I've decided to put together a list of some things to do while on homecation this Holy Week!
1) Ask Facebook
Type this status on facebook "Who's staying in Manila this Holy Week?" See if any of your friends will reply.. then maybe you can arrange to hang out. Since the roads will be free, you can easily get from point A to point B in no time! Go to each other's homes..cook together (oh, you might want to buy all your groceries before Wednesday because I think the markets and malls will be closed...I'm not sure, but it's better to be prepared), watch a movie on TV or hang out at a park. I'm just kidding about the park - I don't think anyone would want to go out to the park in this heat. But you get the point...mingle with the Manileños!
2) Baha'i activities
If you're a Baha'i, then there's definitely (200% sure) a training, meeting, activity going on somewhere near you! We like taking advantages of these holidays...whether it's to study one of the new Messages, or plan for the exciting bicentennial celebration (200th and 198th anniversary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah and the Bab respectively) later in the year. Perhaps you could check on your children/junior youth groups and see if they're in town and do service projects with them, or a big time favorite of Baha'is is to conduct intensive study circles for one (or more!) of the Ruhi books 😃 So keep in touch with your community.
4) Feed your brain
I recently transferred to an environment-related job at my workplace. This is not a very new field for me (living in India for a year has completely inspired/motivated me to become a more environment-conscious human being... topics related to the physical well-being of our dear planet Earth is something I always take time to read through on news papers) but what is new to me in this job is the technical aspect, like the way water treatment plants work, how water district offices function... So I plan to do a lot of reading on these topics, to familiarize myself. I know that sounds very serious (like I have to study) but if you really enjoy what you're reading, you'll never feel like it's a burden. On the lighter note, do some cross word puzzles, browse informative websites, listen to an ebook!
5) Binge-watch
In case you're not into books, then you have all the freedom in the world to turn yourself into a couch potato and catch up on your favorite series. Cinemas will most likely be closed on some of these days, so you better start downloading on your computers. As for me, this is my chance to try completing my AFI top 100 list. For you millennials, go on youtube! Check out some of my favorite vloggers - you'll be very entertained by Wil Dasovich's travel vlogs with his #vlogsquad, and you might also want to get lost with Christian LeBlanc. If you're not into travel vlogs...then try Mikey Bustos - his monologues always put a smile on my face. There are thousands more youtubers out there to discover. Go go go!
6) Learn something new
ON YOUR OWN. Schools will be closed, which means you won't be able to take short classes anywhere, but who needs that when there are a lot of tutorials on youtube? #youtubeislife. Just think of something you're curious about and type "how to..."
Stay productive! No knowledge is wasted; learning new things won't take anything away from you. Who knows where your new talent could lead you someday!
Stay productive! No knowledge is wasted; learning new things won't take anything away from you. Who knows where your new talent could lead you someday!
7) Reflect
So, I know that the Christians/Catholics are about to conclude their Lent at the end of this week...I believe that during the last 40 days, they had to refrain from eating meat and sacrifice having their "favorite foods" and other luxuries. I recently read a very nice article on the newspaper (I forgot to note down the writer and the newspaper) but she wrote about how Lent isn't just about giving up certain foods, but is also a time to reflect and strengthen their spiritual lives by drawing closer to God. Very similar to the Baha'i fasting we had for 19 days in March (you can read my three weeks' reflections here)... but it seems a lot of people here have turned this so-called Holy Week into some kind of wild vacation - it's all about buying new swimming suits and hitting the beaches of Boracay and flooding facebook feeds with the peach emoji. I can't wrap my head around why this is the case. Perhaps the Philippines NEEDS a separate period for "summer vacation".
For those who won't be hitting the pools, then I guess (if you're Christian/Catholic) this would be the perfect time to just enjoy the serenity of the city and reflect on the six weeks you fasted? I guess you could visit one of the churches here in Manila or wherever you are. And to the non-Christians, well all religions encourage its followers to pray and reflect everyday, but sometimes we get so carried away by every day's activities - some of us (well most people living in Manila) leave home very early to get to work and return late at night, or some even get back home early but have dependents to take care of... thus, we rarely have time to meditate. Whether you have a religion or not, whether you consider yourself spiritual or not...meditating is extremely beneficial to our mental, emotional and even physical health. If you want to give yourself something to focus/concentrate on, then great! If not, then that's fine too! Connect your body and mind... analyze your life and criticize yourself (JUST KIDDING!) Actually, meditation is best done guided... do some research on ways to meditate - there are several methods out there.
One of my personal favorite guideline is by Shoghi Effendi:
For those who won't be hitting the pools, then I guess (if you're Christian/Catholic) this would be the perfect time to just enjoy the serenity of the city and reflect on the six weeks you fasted? I guess you could visit one of the churches here in Manila or wherever you are. And to the non-Christians, well all religions encourage its followers to pray and reflect everyday, but sometimes we get so carried away by every day's activities - some of us (well most people living in Manila) leave home very early to get to work and return late at night, or some even get back home early but have dependents to take care of... thus, we rarely have time to meditate. Whether you have a religion or not, whether you consider yourself spiritual or not...meditating is extremely beneficial to our mental, emotional and even physical health. If you want to give yourself something to focus/concentrate on, then great! If not, then that's fine too! Connect your body and mind... analyze your life and criticize yourself (JUST KIDDING!) Actually, meditation is best done guided... do some research on ways to meditate - there are several methods out there.
One of my personal favorite guideline is by Shoghi Effendi:
8) Exercise!
If you stay home this break, chances are very very high you'll sleep late and wake up late, and even take naps in the afternoon (just because you can!) So let's not forget to stay active, physically...so that it won't be too difficult stepping back into reality next Monday, having to wake up early and sit at your desk for 8 hours. If you notice the city is deserted, then seize this rare opportunity to go out for a walk (the air won't be very polluted). If there's no nice place nearby to walk around, then drive/commute over to a park (Quezon City's Wildlife park is a lovely place)... you won't be stuck in traffic getting there and you also won't be bumping into crowds. But make sure you always stay hydrated, because we've been warned of high temperatures this week.
9) Last but not least... paint some eggs. Don't ask why.....
Long live the Easter tradition! 😂